freedom take iii

8/9/2019 Freedom Take III

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Freedom: Take III

Heads of armed forces salute President Maithripala Sirisena as hearrives to preside over the 67th anniversary of Sri Lankasindependence from British colonial rule yesterday at Sri

Jayawardenapura otte ! Pic "y Sudath Silva#olom"os streets are dressed up to mark this $reat day% &or the islands 6%'

million population its a pu"lic holiday% Behind the underlyin$ festivity are

the crowds som"er faces( e)pectant "ut not overly e)cited% #eylon is

takin$ independence *uietly ! BB#+ #eylon ,ains -ndependence+ . &e"ruary

/0.1&e"ruary '+ 23/'

4 few mornin$s a week+ -ndependence

S*uare receives a 5-P visitor% He arrives in an unmarked+

nondescript pickup truck+ accompanied "y two people% ne is a

personal trainer% he other+ a "ody$uard% -n a $lossy "lue t8

shirt+ track "ottoms and neon8laced sports shoes+ President

Maithripala Sirisena could "e 9ust another mornin$ walker at

the S*uare%

But within minutes+ he is :anked "y an entoura$e% ;o


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he desire of citice or his security contin$ent of Da9apaksa loyalists% He has personally

tasted the power of the e)ecutive presidency+ its attraction and appeal%

hat is why+ President Sirisena says at least+ it has to $o%

Shapin$ a di@erent type of presidency

-n the =rst euphoric E3 days+ Maithripala Sirisena is already lookin$ to

shape an entirely di@erent type of presidency%

&or nine lon$ years+ all Sri Lankans have known is the construction of a

$audy personality cult "y its former Head of State% 4s memory faded of pre8

Da9apaksa Sri Lanka under the wei$ht of a propa$anda pro9ect that spanned

nearly a decade+ citi


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"attle a$ainst Da9apaksa authoritarianism and dynastic rule was in every

sense a li"eration stru$$le% -t was a clash of ideas and a =$ht to reclaim the

repu"lic% he Sri Lankan voter chose that day to "e ruled not "y kin$s+ "ut

"y people much more like themselves%

Maithripala Sirisena carries that "urden% He must "e as di@erent as

possi"le% hese are early days+ "ut thus far+ he seems intent to ensure his

presidency and that of his predecessor+ who inspired such ire a$ainst the

powerful o>ce as di@erent as possi"le%

-ndependence S*uare has assumed an important place in the story of the

Sirisena presidency% He chose the historic site to take the presidential oath

of o>ce+ at dusk on 0 January+ linkin$ his victory in the historic election to

the memory of that =rst freedom stru$$le 67 years a$o% -t has inadvertently

"ecome a meetin$ place+ "etween a President and sections of his people%

ational ;ay cele"rations

Less than a month after his election+ President Sirisena would preside over

the 67th anniversary of Sri Lankas independence from British colonial rule%

&or years+ ational ;ay cele"rations have focused on the military% Cith =r

9ets thunderin$ overhead and warships linin$ up on the shimmerin$ seas+

heads of state and di$nitaries would oversee the military show of stren$th

to reassert Sri Lankas capa"ility to protect its soverei$nty and

independence% ?nder President Da9apaksa+ it "ecame a day to for :e)in$

the muscles of a military state% very . &e"ruary would "e followed "y /1

May+ another display of military stren$th to mark the defeat of the L in

2330%

Iesterdays ceremony was markedly di@erent% here were no air shows or

water "odies upon which to :oat vessels of war% Battalion after "attalion did

not walk past the President+ allowin$ him to inspect the raw power that was

his to command% -nstead the event was held at Parliament ,rounds+ with asmall contin$ent of the armed forces and their chiefs performin$ the honour

$uard and $un salute to mark Sri Lankas 67th -ndependence ;ay%

President Sirisena neither used electronic prompters nor read from a written

speech when he addressed the nation yesterday% But for the =rst time since

the end of the war+ the Sri Lankan President spoke on ational ;ay a"out

connectin$ hearts and minds across the north and south+ si) years after the


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$uns had fallen silent%

&rom the outset+ the new ,overnment maintained its approach to this

national day would "e di@erent% President Sirisenas address to the nation

was followed "y a special peace pled$e delivered in all three lan$ua$es% n

"ehalf of the ,overnment of Sri Lanka+ the statement e)pressed sympathy

and re$ret a"out all the victims of the E38year civil war and all violence

since -ndependence and pled$ed to never to allow the country to F"e

soaked "y the "lood of its citi


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he fact that the so"er -ndependence cele"ration

came on the "ack of a series of measures adopted

"y the Sirisena administration since its =rst day in

o>ce+ towards advancin$ the reconciliation

process+ makes it all the more si$ni=cant% he

$estures are not empty+ "ecause they only "uttress

real chan$es unfoldin$ on the $round%

he appointment of H%M%,%S% Palihakkara and

4ustin &ernando as ,overnors+ or Presidential

representatives to the Provinces of the orth and

the ast respectively+ mark one such ma9or shift%

Both respected civil servants+ they replaced e)8

military men who have held the positions since the

end of the war% n assumin$ duties as astern

,overnor last &riday+ &ernando dismissed the "ulk

of his armed $uard "ack to "arracks+ retainin$ only

two soldiers for personal security% he new

,overnors will act less like commanders and more

like e)ecutive liaisons+ takin$ the concerns of the

provincial administrations run "y the 4 and the

SLM# "ack to the centre+ and tryin$ to "uild

understandin$ and consensus "etween the #entral

,overnment and the Provincial #ouncils%

he "an on forei$n nationals travellin$ to the

orthern Province was also lifted+ days after

President Sirisena took o>ce% Dealisin$ that the

#hief Secretary of the orthern Province was a

ma9or "ureaucratic impediment to the orthern

Provincial #ouncil run "y the 4+ President

Sirisena transferred the contentious o>cial out ofthe Province and replaced her with one of the

countrys "est civil servants%

he ,overnment is also pled$in$ to return lands

sei


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"elieves this process to "e too lethar$ic still+ "ut "oth ,overnment Ministers

insist the delays are procedural rather than indicative of a lack of will%

he ? pro"e and forei$n policy

aturally+ none of these e@orts are accidental% he sin$le most formida"le

challen$e facin$ the new ,overnment+ even "efore Parliamentary election+

is the countrys pli$ht "efore the ? Human Di$hts #ouncil in ,eneva%

Cith the Da9apaksa administration in power+ a pro"e on alle$ations of ma9or

human ri$hts a"uses durin$ the last seven years of the war had "een

launched "y the ? in 4u$ust last year% he report from those investi$ators

are due to "e released on 2' March+ in ,eneva%

ey to wardin$ o@ a ma9or diplomatic challen$e at the ? a month down

the road are ma9or concessions domestically to advance the reconciliation

process% his was the delicate "alance the Da9apaksa ,overnment had

never mana$ed to understand%

-nternational will for action a$ainst Sri Lanka on the war crimes issue had

always "een lukewarm% he Da9apaksa administrations "luster and wanton

:outin$ of international norms and human ri$hts ! even post8war !

"olstered e@orts "y powerful Cestern nations at the ? to hold the re$ime

to account for its actions durin$ the =nal phase of the war% he international

community em"arked upon this course of action in the full knowled$e that

the process would lead practically nowhere%

4ppetite to fund a full8scale war crimes tri"unal on Sri Lanka or mo"ilise ?

mem"er states to impose international sanctions on the country remained

low% he international communitys "est hope therefore was to sustain

pressure at the ?HD# in order to e@ect at least "ilateral sanctions a$ainst

Sri Lanka and push the previous re$ime to prosecutin$ several cases in the

domestic sphere%

he new ,overnment+ with its e)pert advisors and considera"le skill withen$a$in$ the diplomatic community and forei$n $overnments+ $rasped the

contours of the "attle very *uickly% Chat has followed is an e@ective two8

pron$ed strate$y% n the one hand+ the Sirisena administration is makin$

concessions to the north and east to "uild trust with the amil people and

ensure tan$i"le chan$es on the $round% 4s a second part of the strate$y+ it

is determined to lo""y Cestern nations that have sponsored resolutions


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a$ainst Sri Lanka over the past three years+ and the ? to lift the pressure

on human ri$hts and defer the report on the investi$ation "y several

months or even a year%

-t is safe to say that the re$ime chan$e that followed the 1 January election

took the world community "y complete surprise% Ma9or international players

were settlin$ into the lon$ $ame+ a$ainst the Da9apaksa administration

which looked like they were set to remain in power for at least a decade%

he "allot "o) revolution last month has had international diplomats

scram"lin$ for responses%

Chile the defeat of the Da9apaksa administration has "een met with a

euphoric response from -ndia and much of the Cest+ President Sirisenas

victory has also raised ma9or *uestions a"out the ? process to ensure

accounta"ility in Sri Lanka% #ompoundin$ the pro"lem+ sources with

knowled$e into the ? pro"e claim+ is the fact that the report scheduled for

release in March needs much more work "efore it can "e set out as a

credi"le evidential documentation of war crimes durin$ the war%

4 si)8month deferral of the report+ perhaps till the ?HD# session in

Septem"er 23/'+ would $ive ? investi$ators a chance to =ne8tune the

report+ activist $roups said% he frantic shuttle diplomacy+ which has seen

top ?S and British o>cials visit #olom"o in the past week+ en route to

,eneva for consultations there+ and &orei$n Minister Man$ala

Samaraweeras 9ourneys to -ndia+ Brussels and Cashin$ton in the =rst .3

days of the Sirisena presidency+ are stron$ly indicative of a ma9or lo""yin$

e@ort "ein$ undertaken "y the new ,overnment%

?ndou"tedly+ the Danil8Man$ala8;hanapala8Palihakkara com"ine o@ers

$reat hope for Sri Lanka to =) its forei$n policy and e@ectively overcome its

international challen$es% he Prime Minister has already proved adept at

en$a$ement with the international community+ promptin$ the L to

ensure his defeat "y callin$ for the amil "oycott of the 233' presidentialelection%

&rom a forei$n policy perspective+ Sri Lanka is in safe and capa"le hands+

almost certain now of preventin$ international intervention on

accounta"ility $rounds% -n e)chan$e for a si)8month deferral of the ?

report+ the Sri Lankan State is likely to o@er the ?HD# somethin$ in


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e)chan$e% -n all likelihood this will include e)peditin$ investi$ations and

prosecutions into what ? Di$hts #hief avi Pillay famously called certain

Fem"lematic casesG of human ri$hts violations domestically%

Cith #hief Justice Sripavan at the helm of the Judiciary+ and the e*uili"rium

restored in Sri Lankas ?pper Judiciary+ the case for the su>ciency of

domestic 9urisdiction $rows stron$er and more credi"le%

Justice and truth8seekin$

he intrinsic :aw in the plan however+ is the potential to see Sri Lankas

pro"lems at the ?HD# as purely a failure of forei$n policy and

en$a$ement with international allies% he Da9apaksa administration

certainly e)acer"ated its international pro"lems "y failure to en$a$e

e@ectively with traditional allies who had supported its war e@ort a$ainst

the L for years% But at its heart+ Sri Lankas issues at the ? are also

a"out 9ustice and truth8seekin$%

his is not a pro"lem uni*ue to the war a$ainst the L or its "rutal =nal

chapter in 2330% he lack of accounta"ility for ma9or crimes "y parties that

have included the State have pla$ued Sri Lanka since the /07/ youth

insurrection+ in which accordin$ to conservative estimates+ some E3+333

lost their lives% -n the second insurrection+ "etween /017 and /010+ dou"le

the num"er of lives were lost%

he Sri Lankan people have always allowed the perpetrators of violence to

$et away with it% o"ody was made to account for those deaths and the

immunity has resulted in repeated cycles of "rutality and violence in this

small island for the "etter part of .3 years% he ? process+ while

internationally contoured+ is rooted in domestic failures+ to achieve 9ustice

and closure for victims of violence outside and "eyond the separatist war%

he 4

-t is this failure that $ives the 4 pause+ on the promise to the

international community that the ,overnment will esta"lish a credi"le

domestic mechanism to address accounta"ility% he Sri Lanka State+ 4

Leader Sampanthan says+ has always only "een an impediment to the


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truth8seekin$ process% F4ll Sri Lankans must know the truth a"out what

happened at the end of the war+G the octo$enarian amil politician e)plains%

Fhis is crucial to promotin$ national reconciliation%G

either Samaraweera nor Cickremesin$he are Sinhala nationalists or

hawkish politicians who want to see ethnic divides perpetuated% 4s they

undertake the diplomatic e@ort to push "ack a$ainst an international

mechanism to address accounta"ility therefore+ it is crucial to carry the 4

! at least its more moderate sections ! with them% he need to

accommodate the concerns of the 4 led "y Sampanthan "ecomes dou"ly

important "ecause they were ma9or stakeholders in the e@ort to propel

Maithripala Sirisena to victory in January this year%

n 1 January+ the amil people disre$arded the calls of the more hawkish

sections of the 4 and ?P&4 Ministers like ;ou$las ;evananda who told an

election rally for Mahinda Da9apaksa in Ja@na that the presidential election

was not the amil peoples =$ht% F5ote in provincial council elections or

parliamentary elections+ when you have to elect amil leaders+G ;evananda

said in a covert "oycott call%

n election day+ the people of the north turned out in lar$e num"ers to vote

overwhelmin$ly for chan$e% he amil peoples interest in the poll would

vindicate Sampanthan and other moderate sections of the 4% hese were

sections of the party who were assertin$ their "elief in democracy and rule

of law as foundin$ stones upon which 9ustice and e*uality for amil people

could "e "uilt% he hearts of amils in the north and east therefore+ lies not

with the 4nanthi Sasitharan and Siva9ilin$am of the 4+ "ut still with

Sampanthan+ Sumanthiran and Ci$neswaran% hese are last amil

moderates+ men who survived the Ls "rutal form of nationalism and

lived to represent their people in the post8L phase of their history% hey

are neither terrorists nor proponents of violence+ "ut moderates who"elieve in not two Sri Lankas+ "ut one% one of them view their role in Sri

Lankan politics to lie purely within the ethnic framework+ a fact reinforced

"y the fact that Sumanthiran was amon$ senior mem"ers of the le$al

fraternity leadin$ #hief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake "ack to Supreme

#ourt on 20 January+ to end a national crisis that "ore no relation to the

ethnic stru$$le%


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4 moment like no other

he 67th anniversary of Sri Lankas independence is a moment+ therefore+

like no other% 4 moment when Maithripala Sirisena+ Danil Cickremesin$he+

#handrika umaratun$a+ 4nura umara ;issanayake and perhaps even a

reformed #hampika Danawaka can sit across a ta"le to start a real

discussion on political settlement of Sri Lankas national *uestion% 4cross

them will sit not Pra"hakaran or 4nton Balasin$ham+ "ut #%5 Ci$neswaran+

a Supreme #ourt Justice whose children have married Sinhalese+ M%4%

Sumanthiran+ a human ri$hts lawyer and Doyalist+ and D% Sampanthan+ the

last of Sri Lankas amil moderate statesmen%

4 solution within Sampanthans lifetime is Sri Lankas last "est hope for a

resolution to an ethnic con:ict that has "li$hted life after independence% -t

is naive to "elieve that decades of animosity can "e reversed overni$ht% But

the foundations can "e laid "y this Sinhala8amil leadership to take the

discussion forward%

-t will "e the =rst time in history that Sri Lanka "e$ins a true discussion

a"out reconciliation and power sharin$+ without a $un "ein$ held to its head

! as it was in /00/+ /00. or 233/% Cith the election of Maithripala Sirisena

with the overwhelmin$ support of the minorities+ Sinhalese and amil

leaders come to the ta"le on e*ual terms+ as e*ual stakeholders in to

preserve the future of Sri Lankan democracy% Si)ty8seven may not "e a

si$ni=cant num"er% -ts not a diamond 9u"ilee or a ru"y anniversary% But

"etween / and 67+ there has perhaps never "een a moment such as this

one% he li"erty stru$$le in /0.1 was uncannily like the stru$$le fou$ht and

won on 1 January 23/'% -t was the moment when amils and Muslims 9oined

the Sinhalese to stop authoritarianism in its tracks% -n /0.1+ leaders without

the wisdom of e)perience a"out the futility and "rutality of war+ ethnic

division and animosity would s*uander hard won li"erty from colonial rule%2330+ Sri Lankas ne)t "est opportunity to achieve true freedom for all

communities+ was lost in the victory and triumphalism of a few% hat was

when one community dictated to another+ how to "e $rateful% How to

mourn their dead% his time+ in 23/'+ another opportunity lies "efore us to

achieve freedom and unity% -t could come not as victors $ift+ or the

compromise of the defeated+ "ut throu$h consensus of e*ual citi


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e*ual stake in the collective destiny of their nation%

President Maithripala Sirisena+ the son of a peasant who hails from deep

Sinhala country+ perhaps stands now at the cusp of history% Si) years after

the war ended+ he has a moment to "uild a le$acy that only Mahinda

Da9apaksa could have rivalled+ had he $rasped his potential to unite instead

of divide at the end of the war%

Si)ty8seven% -ts not a si$ni=cant num"er% But it could perhaps "e

transformed into a monumentally8si$ni=cant moment%


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President Maithripala Sirisena e)ercises with a trainer at -ndependenceS*uare ! Pic courtesy 4&P
http://www.ft.lk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/bottom-copy.jpg

freedom take iii

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